


It's Complicated

by Japo_Chan23



Series: Dearest melancholy [1]
Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Amazing Spider-Man (Movies - Webb)
Genre: A serious lack of describing the environment, Alternate Canon, Anger, Angry Peter, Angst, Apologies, Arguing, Awkward Conversations, Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Canonical Character Death, Childhood Friends, Conversations, Cussing, Emotional Hurt, Enemies to Friends, F/M, Family Fluff, Fiers doesn't go to see Harry, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Enemies, Friendship, Grief/Mourning, Harry is emo, Harry is just recovering, Hurt/Comfort, I like to think they consider each other family, Implied/Referenced Character Death, In his cell, It's not that complicated I swear, Light Angst, Past Character Death, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter's just very angry at everything, Post-Canon, So much anger, Though it's pretty light not that much, Trying to be friends again, Where he kind of rots but that's okay, but still, i guess?, references to comics, so does Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-15 21:57:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14798700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Japo_Chan23/pseuds/Japo_Chan23
Summary: “I was just visiting Gwen, you know, not too long ago- today’s not the day, by the way, just so you don’t get confused or anything, but uh. I was in my car, and I decided, you know, why not visit Harry, right? Unless you’re still dead? Right, Harry?” Peter lightly kicked at Harry’s arm. He didn’t want to think about how long Harry sat like that, in that position- legs crossed, fingers intertwined in his lap, head slightly bowed. “Remember when you said that? You still dead or what?” He grumbled.





	It's Complicated

This was a thing now, apparently. 

It’s been years, hell he’s already out of college with a degree and everything (still working at the Bugle,  _ unfortunately _ ). Of course, when a new year comes around, so does certain holidays and anniversaries. Like his birthday, or Christmas, or something like Thanksgiving. Or the day Ben got shot, or the night Gwen Stacy died. 

It’s been long enough since what happened, and each year he and May visit her grave. They normally stop at Ben’s grave while they’re there as well, but Peter spends more time with Gwen when it’s the anniversary of her death, and vice versa. And yeah, Peter goes at a time he knows the Stacy’s won’t arrive at- so he doesn’t really have to deal with seeing them, knowing he was the exact reason that two members of their family have died.

So, yeah. He visits Gwen and Ben a lot, but the visits slowly decrease every year. 

It’s July 13th when he leaves the cemetery at 1:21pm, and when he’s sitting in his car at 1:22pm, he decides that now, 5 years later, he should actually visit Harry Osborn in whatever cell he’s currently residing in.

It’s been years, and the last time he saw him, well. He’ll just leave it at that. But that doesn’t change the fact that Harry Osborn was his best friend, and as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t just forget that, nor could he change it. 

Call it desperation, or hope that he’s still  _ Harry _ and not the Green Goblin, but Peter just wants to know if Harry is fine.

Which is how he suddenly found himself walking through the dark halls of the Ravencroft Institute. Where Harry was.

Exhaling, Peter rubbed at his mouth, before suddenly dropping his hand against his leg. “Hey, uh, security dude?” He chewed at the bottom of his lip, stopping at the locked door. As far as he knew, it was sound proof. He hoped it was, anyways. “You think I’m doing a good thing here? Visiting Harry?” 

The guard glanced at Peter, before looking at the other guard that was stationed at the door that led to this section (Peter couldn’t help but think about the excessive amount of doors in this place). Sighing, he left his hand on the knob (if you can even call it a knob, Peter had no clue what the fuck it was), before turning to Peter with a roll of his eyes. “Look, kid, I don’t know your business, but considering the fact that you’re even here in the first place? Sure, let’s say you’re doing a good thing.” 

“Alright, alright, cool”, Peter said, scratching at his head before shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “Do you mind uh, leaving us alone?” He asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet as he watched the guard opening the door.

With a grunt, he stepped to side to allow Peter to walk in. 

“Thanks,” Peter mumbled, staring at Harry’s back. He leaned against the now closed door behind him, his fingers pinching at the inside of his pockets. “Hey, Harry. How- how are you?”

“Why now?” Harry questioned, not bothering to answer Peter’s question, not even turning around to look at him. Peter scowled. He thought he was over it, or at least, over the fact that it wasn’t just Harry’s fault Gwen died. ‘ _ Apparently not _ ,’ he thought, chest burning with hate. 

Glancing up at the ceiling, Peter kicked at the ground, taking in deep breaths. “Yeah, why now?” He whispered to himself, rubbing his nose. “I don’t know,” a quick shrug, before he stepped forward and sat on Harry’s bed (or what could be considered a bed). He could at least see the side of Harry’s face, instead of in what he  _ believed _ to be a mirror that wasn’t effective whatsoever. “I was just visiting Gwen, you know, not too long ago- today’s not the day, by the way, just so you don’t get confused or anything, but uh. I was in my car, and I decided, you know, why not visit Harry, right? Unless you’re still dead? Right, Harry?” Peter lightly kicked at Harry’s arm. He didn’t want to think about how long Harry sat like that, in that position- legs crossed, fingers intertwined in his lap, head slightly bowed. “Remember when you said that? You still dead or what?” He grumbled. 

“What do you want me to say, Peter?” Harry sighed, bringing his hand up to rub his eye. “I  _ am _ sorry for killing Gwen, but I’m not going to say I’m sorry about all of it. You said  _ no _ to giving me your blood,  _ no _ to helping me. How do you think that makes me feel?” Harry seethed, glancing at Peter from the corner of his eye.

“You didn’t kill Gwen,” he mumbled, dropping his head, his chin hitting his chest. “She died from the whiplash of suddenly being caught by my web, and then she hit the ground. Broken neck, too. It was both of us, okay?” Peter finished with a sigh, hiding his face with both of his hands. “And I’m  _ sorry _ , Harry, I didn’t want to say no to you, but I had to, you have to understand-”

“Why then?  _ Why _ didn’t you give me your blood?” Harry ground out through clenched teeth. “Why did my best friend Spiderman say no to helping me out, then, huh Parker?” He finally tilted his head up, turning it slightly so he could look at the brunette with narrowed eyes. 

“Right. Right, okay,” Peter thinned his lips, dragging his hands down his face. He sat up, letting his back hit the wall. “So, who am I talking to right now?” Peter grunted, crossing his arms over his chest. He shuffled his food, before looking up at the other man, gnawing at his bottom lip. “Am I talking to my best friend, or the guy that killed my girlfriend?” 

“Fuck you, Peter!” Harry shouted, his lips curled back in a snarl, his entire body tense. “You didn’t help me! This is your fault! You wouldn’t help me!” 

“I couldn’t!” Peter shouted back, standing up, his hands clenched at his sides. He breathed out heavily, a glare set on the other man who remained seated on the ground. “You think I said no because I could? I was  _ protecting  _ you! You could’ve died if you had my blood, Harry!” Peter jabbed harshly at his chest quickly, ignoring the little pokes of pain in his anger. “I told you! I told you that my blood could make you die, and you didn’t listen to me!” Peter ranted, pointing an accusing finger at the other man, before dropping his arm against his leg just a quick. He bit harshly at his bottom lip before shaking his head quickly. With a huff, he sat back down on the bed, curling his fingers around the edge of it. 

Peter exhaled roughly, tapping his foot rapidly. He opened and closed his mouth multiple times, trying to calm down and find the right words to say. “Look, I’m  _ sorry _ , Harry. If I could give you my blood, with no repercussions on your end,” he paused for a moment, looking at everything  _ besides  _ his best friend, “I would. I totally would, no hesitation. But there  _ were _ , and I didn’t want you to die because of me, Harry.”

Harry grunted, toying with the orange shirt he was forced to wear. “I get it, really, I do, Peter. But I was still  _ dying _ . It’s not like it’s hard to choose between dying without trying to keep living, or do something while risking your life. I probably was going to die anyways, Pete,” Harry chuckled, grinning at his friend without any mirth whatsoever.

Sighing, Peter let his shoulders sink. He dropped his hands in between his legs after rubbing his eyes. “I’m so sorry Harry,” Peter whispered. “I didn’t want this- you know,  _ us _ , I didn’t want us to never be friends again. I care about you, a lot. You’re my best friend, man. I can’t lose you too,” he said, using his right hand to support his head, his elbow digging into the flesh of his thigh.

Breathing out slowly, Harry nodded, before turning his body so he could lean his side against the bed next to Peter. “After all these years, you’d think you would finally shave the unibrow. Suddenly I’m in prison, and you just let it grow out? Did you learn  _ nothing _ from me, at all?” Harry chuckled, that stupid laugh that Peter heard countless times before he became Green Goblin. 

Laughing back (that dumb, dorky laugh that he knew Gwen loved), Peter softly hit the back of Harry’s head. “Hey, now that you don’t have a manservant to blow dry your hair, you’re not as helpless anymore, so how about that?” 

“Hey, I don’t even have a  _ comb _ in here, I have to resort to using my fingers, so if anything,  _ that’s  _ going to be my demise. I’m completely helpless now without my comb, man,” Harry said, shaking his head slowly. With a quick, dejected sigh, Harry glanced up at Peter. “You know, this doesn’t change the fact that I’m still mad at you, right? You could've visited sooner too, by the way. I've been rotting in here and you've been, what? Flirting with the Avengers?”

“Ha, yeah, right. Avengers won't even look at me,” Peter snickered, standing up. He held a fist out, grinning widely when Harry tapped his own fist against Peter’s. “Look man, I’m sorry, but I needed time to just learn that it wasn't just your fault, you know? As well as just, try and cope with what happened. I’ll visit you as often as I can though, Harry, I promise you.” Peter was walking backwards, still making random hand gestures at the other man. Some part of him brought up the fact that he had broken the promise he made to George, and he knew he should’ve listened, and even had the nerve to tell Gwen the best promises are the ones you can’t keep. He immediately pushed the thought away; now was  _ not  _ the time to be thinking about any member of the Stacy family. Peter already devoted enough time to them, now was Harry’s turn. 

“Okay, Pete. And don’t forget to bring a comb and blow dryer- need to keep looking as fresh as possible, right? And shave that unibrow, nerd,” Harry joked, giving the other man a lopsided grin. “Just make sure to visit me. Gets lonely in here sometimes,” he said solemnly. 

“Got it,” Peter responded, nodding quickly. “Yeah, definitely. Like I said, I’ll visit as often as I can. Kind of busy, and broke, so gotta work and stuff,” he shrugged. “I gotta go now. I’ll uh, I’ll see you soon, okay?” He whispered, pressing the palm of his hand against the door. 

“Alright.” Harry stood up, and made the very short trip to what Peter was standing, before slapping a hand onto the other man’s shoulder. “It was great seeing you,” he said, pulling Peter into a hug.

“Yeah, yeah great seeing you too, Harry,” Peter said into Harry’s shoulder. “I seriously gotta go now, Aunt May’s probably waiting for me” Pulling back, he patted Harry’s shoulder before he knocked on the door, hearing the Guard begin to open the door. 

“Pfft, okay, Pete. Get outta here, nerd,” Harry pushed Peter softly, before stumbling back until he fell onto his bed. “Bye Peter.”

“Bye Harry.” Chewing his lip, Peter glanced at the guard threw the now opened door. Stepping out, he turned to his friend, about to say something, anything really, before deciding against it. He gave a small wave before putting his hand in his pocket. 

He listened to the distinct sound of the lock getting put into place when the door closed. 

Peter Parker continued to hear that sound multiple times a month, for many years, before he was able to help  _ legally _  get Harry Osborn out. 

**Author's Note:**

> Trivia:
> 
> "Or the day Ben got shot, or the night Gwen Stacy died." In the comicverse, the issues where Gwen died are referred to as "The Night Gwen Stacy Died". 
> 
> I made the day Gwen die June 13, because on multiple websites I saw that issue #121 came out in June, but on one website it said it was released on March 13. I changed the month, since seniors normally graduate in May or June, but I kept the date for the most part. 
> 
> "It’s July 13th when he leaves the cemetery at 1:21pm, and when he’s sitting in his car at 1:22pm. . ." Issue #121 came out in June, July is when issue #122 came out. I'm referencing the issues via the time (it is also referenced in the second Amazing Spider-Man movie. After Gwen dies the camera zooms out, so you can see the clock face on the tower. The time on the clock, after everything that happened, is 1:21). 
> 
> The title is a reference to when Gwen is in the elevator with Harry, and they're discussing her relationship with Peter, only for Harry to say, "it's complicated". 
> 
> Also, I bring up the whole, "comb and hopelessness" and "unibrow" a few times, which is just normal. It was some banter we witnessed in the second movie, and I thought it would be nice for the two to just kind of have that same moment again, except instead of it being 8 years since they last saw each other, it's been 5. 
> 
> -
> 
> Anyways. I have a lot of playlists that I use for whenever, and I normally listen to just one playlist for whatever I'm writing. This is the playlist I was listening to when writing this, so here you go. [Deareset Melancholy, Leave Me to Rest](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYG85jqr9jkSTgLaY6Us3wTO9JNtSDBu7)  
> On a side note, many thanks to my friend CreatorAnimator for her input on certain things. While I told her something felt off about on scene in particular (one that felt too straightforward and insensitive to me), I was actually considering getting rid of the scene. I wanted someone's input on it, to see her reaction to it, without the quick, "keep it". The scene so happens to be the moment where Peter asks Harry if he's talking to his best friend or the guy who killed his girlfriend. Obviously, I'm referring to just plain ol' Harry and Green Goblin. I like the idea of Harry recovering and not dying, and just getting better, so whatever. It's an alternate universe and it's fanfcition, I can do what I want.


End file.
